Top News:
The Verge:
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy confirms plans to cut 500+ jobs, or ~35% of its staff, and says its workforce was oversized for its business' size, after March 2023 cuts — Twitch is laying off more than 500 employees, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy announced this morning, reportedly accounting for around 35 percent of its staff.
Discussion:
Twitch, Bloomberg, @tomwarren, The Information, Decrypt, Justin Gerrard on LinkedIn, Tubefilter, The Hill, Observer, Game Rant, The Register, WKYC-TV, CNN, Deadline, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, New York Daily News, Metro, @ianbetteridge@writing …, Thurrott, Gizmodo, Adweek, The Wrap, @lucas_shaw, @carterfornow, @dannyodwyer, @zacharydiaz, @carnage4life, @richlightshed, @tunguz, MediaPost, gamedeveloper, GamesIndustry.biz, Engadget, Digital Music News, Jalyssa Eliasen on LinkedIn, Spencer Soper on LinkedIn, TechCrunch, The Information, GamesHub, Cord Cutters News, Shacknews and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Memo: Amazon Studios SVP Mike Hopkins says the company would cut “several hundred roles” in its Prime Video and MGM Studios units; both had cuts in early 2023 — Mike Hopkins announced the cuts Wednesday. — Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs in its Prime Video and MGM Studios division.
Discussion:
Variety, The Information, CNBC, @lmoses, KTFT, Next TV, Observer, @tim_bays, @jessicalessin, @lucas_shaw, Mumbrella, Breitbart, @davidclinchnews, @carnage4life@threads.net, Los Angeles Times, Thurrott, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Engadget, Business Insider, TechCrunch, Media Play News, The Wrap, IndieWire, The Information, Commercial Observer, MediaPost, Cord Cutters News and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Deadline:
Memo: Amazon Studios Head Jennifer Salke says recent layoffs were part of its plan to consolidate the Amazon Studios and MGM theatrical distribution teams — EXCLUSIVE: Earlier this morning, Amazon revealed that it was laying off several hundred employees across Prime Video and Amazon Studios as part of a review of its business.
Discussion:
The Wrap
Los Angeles Times:
California public radio station KCRW cuts about 16 jobs by offering buyouts and ends its Greater LA podcast, in a bid to reduce a projected $3M budget deficit — Santa Monica public radio station KCRW will part ways with more than a dozen staffers and end the popular podcast “Greater LA.”
Discussion:
@radiochio, Digital Music News, The Wrap, @bigdanimals, @radiochio, Deadline, Axios and The Hollywood Reporter
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Skydance backers are discussing an all-cash bid for National Amusements; if successful, they would pursue a second deal to merge Paramount and Skydance — CEO Ellison, his father, Larry, and other investors are in talks to buy Redstone's stake in National Amusements, Paramount's parent
Discussion:
@jtoonkel, Deadline, @cgasparino, Variety, @cgasparino, The Wrap, @tvgrimreaper, New York Post, @asharma, Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg
Maria Sherman / Associated Press:
Luminate's 2023 report: the global music industry passed 4T streams in 2023, a new record and up 34% YoY; Taylor Swift accounted for one in every 78 US streams — Listened to more music last year? You're not alone. — The global music industry surpassed 4 trillion streams in 2023 …
Discussion:
Luminate, CBS News, Axios, @lucas_shaw, @alexselbyb, CNN, Billboard, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, Music Business Worldwide, Variety and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »
Lynette Rice / Deadline:
Sources: Hallmark Media lays off CMO Lara Richardson, Chief People Officer Pamela Wolfe, EVP Research Strategy Robin Thomas, and Head of Distribution Judi Lopez — Senior TV Writer/TV Editor, Awards — EXCLUSIVE: It's Hallmark Media's turn now: Deadline has learned that the premier home …
Discussion:
The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix President of Advertising Amy Reinhard says its ad tier has 23M+ MAUs globally, and 85% of customers on the ad tier are streaming for 2+ hours per day — Netflix is seeing strong growth of its advertising-based plan, having recently eclipsed 23 million global monthly active users, president of advertising Amy Reinhard said.
Discussion:
The Information, Reuters and Media Play News
Kevin Draper / New York Times:
ESPN deciding not to punish Pat McAfee for publicly calling an executive a “rat” highlights a power shift as the network transitions from cable to streaming — For decades, the biggest star at ESPN was ESPN. That's changing as it transitions from cable dominance to a much less certain streaming future.
Andre Gee / Rolling Stone:
Mixtape platform DatPiff uploads its 50TB cache of 366,420 mixtapes and free albums to the Internet Archive, after experiencing a server crash in March 2023 — DatPiff uploaded its extensive free mixtape catalog to the Internet Archive to protect it for the foreseeable future
Bloomberg:
Sources: OpenAI is in talks with CNN and Fox Corp. to license their text, video, and image content; Time “is in discussions with OpenAI” about a content deal — - Startup has said it's in discussions with dozens of publishers — Negotiations come as OpenAI faces New York Times lawsuit
Discussion:
@lynnmdoan, @shiringhaffary, @davidclinchnews, @wholemarsblog and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Donald Trump will appear in his first live Fox News interview in nearly two years later today; sources say Trump thinks Fox erred in settling with Dominion — A town hall in Iowa on Wednesday is the network's first live interview with the former president in nearly two years, the latest twist in a long-running drama.
Discussion:
@grynbaum, The Hill, @alexthomp, @alexthomp, @sarafischer, @davidfolkenflik, Axios, The Streamable and Semafor
Press Gazette:
The Reuters Institute survey of news leaders: 48% say money from AI deals will be very little for any publisher, most will put more effort into WhatsApp, more — The Reuters Institute survey touched on AI pessimism, news avoidance and paywall success. — Less than half of news leaders feel confident …
Discussion:
@nicnewman, @nicnewman, @nicnewman, @pressgazette and BuzzMachine
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